Mt. Diablo

High in the hills of Northern California exists a place in the clouds(well maybe just that day).  In 1998, we drove the solitary roads to the top of Mt. Diablo.  On the day we went, it was misty and cold.  While Northern California becomes even more crowded with more and more and more people, there are several places that are preserved in which suburbia, the city, and construction SHALL NOT PASS!  What a beautiful part of our country, but it sucks living there!  Too many people.  In fact, you can see the physical lines of where city and nature meet and it's not pretty.  But thankfully they've preserved sites like these from human encroachment.  Urbanites LOVE the Bay Area. Me...not so much.  Desert boy at heart.  However that doesn't mean you can't appreciate other areas around the country or world. On a break from artsy fartsy photo shoots, the garden, and birds pics, I'll give you a trip back in time to a place that hasn't changed much except extending its acreage and preserve area. Today I take you to Mt. Diablo in Northern California outside of the Bay Area!

Okay...not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm pretty sure that it's not okay to do this.  Oh to be young and stupid again...well I don't ever want to be that naive.  Maybe it's okay to hang out in that hole.  There wasn't a sign that said I couldn't....but still, I wouldn't do it today.

Mount Diablo is sacred to many California Native American peoples; according to Miwok mythology and Ohlone mythology, it was the point of creation. Prior to European entry, the creation narrative varied among surrounding local groups. In one surviving narrative fragment, Mount Diablo and Reed's Peak were surrounded by water; from these two islands the creator Coyote and his assistant Eagle-man made Indian people and the world. In another, Molok the Condor brought forth his grandson Wek-Wek the Falcon Hero, from within the mountain. 

If you've never been through this part of the country, you'll be amazed at the beauty from the rolling green(or yellow) hills to get here.  There were times that I thought I was driving through Italy.  This is also an excellent place for birding(although I wasn't into this activity back then....just the hiking).  But if you'd like to escape "The City"(aka San Francisco), this is a great trip.  Although there are a million things to do in the Bay Area, this place usually is overlooked for other locals like the wine country near Napa, Mt. Tam on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, Hwy 1, Santa Cruz, or some of the preserves around the San Francisco Bay.  If you've been to the Bay Area a million times or lived there(like I had),  this is a really nice and relaxed day trip.  You'll really enjoy the hillside landscape and views.  So don't be lured into those tourist traps.....rent a car and drive over the hills of Oakland and go East!  That's where it's at:)  More tomorrow....